A major renovation of Mohawk’s historic Imperial Theatre is set to continue in 2026. Once a popular vaudeville theater on the edge of Over-the-Rhine, the venue has been vacant since its closure in the 1970s. Now, a coalition of neighborhood advocates is pushing for the site’s renewal as a local arts hub.
The project is the vision of Cincinnati developer Julia Fay, who purchased the building and an adjacent lot from New Life Outreach Ministries in 2014. She now heads the Imperial Theater Mohawk Alliance, a local group that has funded the renewal effort for over a decade.
“[I thought] it would revitalize the neighborhood as a creative place,” Fay said. “A reopened theater would inspire other storefronts and apartment owners to fill their units with like-minded people who are happy with the environment they’re in.”…